Please rate my essay-Argument

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Please rate my essay-Argument

by rkonkar » Sat Jan 01, 2011 8:20 am
Argument

The following appeared as part of an article in the travel section of a newspaper.
"Over the past decade, the restaurant industry in the country of Spiessa has experienced unprecedented growth. This surge can be expected to continue in the coming years, fueled by recent social changes: personal incomes are rising, more leisure time is available, single-person households are more common, and people have a greater interest in gourmet food, as evidenced by a proliferation of publications on the subject."

The aforementioned argument, which says that the reason for unprecedented growth in hotel industry in the country of Spiessa is due to recent social changes like increase in personal income, leisure time, and more number of single person households seems to be legitimate and fairly convincing in the first look. However, on further examining the issue, we can infer that there are few flaws in the statement.

Firstly, we have no information about the percentage growth in the restaurant industry due to social changes. We cannot be sure if this surge would be consistent in the future. It might be possible that rise in personal incomes or availability of free time necessarily will not encourage eating meals outside. Hence, it is wrong to assume that the present condition might influence the future actions. Possibly, people would dine at restaurants as government might have announced some price reductions or some attractive offers in the food industry. Secondly, I feel that when personal income of an individual rises, they would be interested in upgrading their lifestyles by buying a car, travel to various countries, or invest in a house. Moreover, if they have leisure time, they would spend more on recreational activities like watching movies or charity for personal satisfaction. Thirdly, the argument makes a weak claim that single people might prefer to be at home and prepare gourmet food for them, as anyone would love to dine with a partner. Further, we do not have enough evidence on the nature of economic condition in Speissa so that we can predict the futuristic gains.

The argument is not well reasoned, as strong evidences and premises do not back it. In addition, it unfairly assumes a predictable future course for both supply and demand. The argument can improve if the author presents some history on the restaurant industry in the country and the savings and personal expenses on an average.
Source: — GMAT Essays (AWA) |

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